What Are Some Tips for Looking up Available Train Seats?

A:

Quick Answer

As of 2015, there are no search engines to determine available train seats in the United States. Many foreign countries, such as India and the United Kingdom, offer these services as train travel is more common overseas.

Keep Learning

According to The Economist, train travel in the United States is among the lowest out of the first-world countries. The European Union accounted for approximately 240 billion passenger miles in 2011, while the United States only accounted for approximately 11 billion passenger miles. Due to the fact that air travel is easier and as cheap as a train ticket, the majority of American railroads are used for carrying freight across the country.

As of 2015, Amtrak.com, the largest passenger train carrier in the United States, does not offer a seat availability finder search engine for train trips. However, once a customer buys a ticket via Amtrak.com, the system reserves a seat for the buyer.

Amtrak.com does offer a search engine to check the status of trains currently running and trains running in the near future. Look up arrival and departure times, as well as any delays, using the train number, station number or city. The website also offers users a quick way to change reservations for a different train, as long as seats are available.